area bringing with it sleet and freezing rain. we're keeping an eye on the skies and the roads. what is closed and delayed as you get ready to head out the door. welcome to "news4 today." i'm eun yang. i'm aaron gilchrist. that list of closings and delays continues to grow by the minute. we have more than 150 schools and governments closed or delayed today. first in the district, federal offices opening at noon today. employees have the option for unscheduled leave or telework. d.c. public schools and the d.c. government offices are also delayed two hours today. in maryland now, prince george's and montgomery county schools are opening two hours late. charles and howard county schools are delayed two hours. our frederick and calvert schools. >> loudoun and -- stafford county and prince william delayed two hours. the same for alexandria city public schools. spotsylvania, culpeper, warren and page county schools on a

two-hour delay. >> this is happening because the weather is changing. rain right now. the roads and sidewalks there are extremely slick. >> want to get a look at our forecast at this hour. tom kierein is keeping an eye on what folks are dealing with outside. >> look at radar. we have a combination of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow all happening simultaneously in the viewing area. where you see the white, it's a combination of sleet and snow and that's our eastern suburbs and parts of southern maryland. now heading across anne arundel county and east. the air crareas in pink is free rain. freezing rain is liquid rain that falls and then freezes on elevated surfaces. that's what's happening now in loudoun county and in montgomery county farther east and up toward howard county. those areas are getting some rain that's freezing on tree limbs and power lines just a very light glaze there now. farther south in fairfax county, the areas in green to charles

county, most of it is a little above freezing. the rain is not freezing on elevated surfaces and the areas in white, parts of prince george's county and bowie, through anne arundel county and annapolis, they're getting sleet and snow. farther south of there, eastern charles county, they're getting sleet and snow as well. the situation is changing minute by minute. stay tuned. we'll keep you posted with frequent updates throughout the morning. temperatures right now at or a little below freezing much of the region. even where the rain is falling, it will accumulate on tree limbs and power lines. light icing, though, very light, only a trace of icing with very light rain and that's going to continue through 9:00 or 10:00 this morning. after that, it's going to get above freezing and begin to melt. we'll have rain for the rest of the afternoon. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. danella here with a look at traffic. >> good morning. in the first 4 traffic office, still tracking the rail delays. this is on the marc because of a disabled freight train. if you're traveling brunswick

east. it's almost an hour now. 890 is still at a 23-minute delay. powder mill road in beltville at cherry hill road. an accident at that intersection. just past 66. one lane is blocked as you cross over the railroad crossing. because the railroad arm is stuck in the down position. police are on the scene of this incident here. aaron, over to you. >> thank you, danella. loudoun county seeing some rain right now. but the roads, sidewalks, they are slick at this hour. news 4's tony tull is live for us. >> reporter: we are seeing rain. i switched out my winter coat for a rain jacket. that's what we're dealing with now. along route 7 in leesburg. as you mentioned, loudoun county schools closed for the day. that's pretty much why you don't see too many folks out and about. the roads still slick. a lot of salt trucks out early this morning putting out salt and sand.

the temperatures hovering around freezing. you'll deal with slick spots, maybe even black ice. but guys, take a look at the sidewalk here. you can see starting to melt the ice that formed earlier. you can kind of hear it from my foot there. if you're hefding out this morning, taking the dog for a walk or if you have to head in to work, be careful. there are still slick spots. as i mentioned, for the last couple minutes, 15, 20 minutes, all we've been dealing with is rain in leesburg. that's the latest conditions in loudoun county. pack to you. >> tony, thanks. despite the mess on the roads, it appears to be business as usual at local airports right now. this is a live look at reagan national. we're not hearing any major delays there or at dulles or bwi. in fact, we checked airports in the midwest as well where the storm was. no major problems there. we're told that the airlines may decide to do de-icing this morning. you want to check for delays. of course, you can get your forecast no matter where you are and when it is by downloading

the storm team 4 weather app on your smartphone. you can upload photos so other viewers can see what conditions are like in your neighborhood. >> 6:04 is your time. the senate will make a major announcement on immigration reform. members have come to a preliminary agreement on sweeping changes to america's immigration laws. the deal will address better border security and a more effective system to ensure that companies don't hire undocumented immigrants. it create a path for citizenship for those in the state. senators from both sides of the aisle say it's time for a comprehensive reform policies that actually work. >> americans support it. in poll o after poll. latino voters expect it, and republicans need it. >> we can't go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status. >> republicans also said the 2012 elections showed them just how much they're losing the latino vote and that these

changes could help attract more people to the gop. later this morning, president obama and vice president biden will meet with police chiefs from around the country to discuss gun control regulations. the two will talk about poe potential restrictions with chiefs from aurora, colorado, oak creek, wisconsin and newtown, connecticut. attorney general eric holder and homeland security secretary janet napolitano will be there as well. the group will discuss the "commonsense policies president obama put forth last monthment" prince george's county residents will get a new voice in annapolis. darren swain will be sworn in as a member of the house of delegates. he will fill the seat that tiffany alston once held. she was removed from office after entering a plea deal to settle two misconduct cases against her. swain served in the house from 1999 to 2003. he is an assistant vice president for alumni relations at bowie state university. >> new this morning, police in annapolis are investigating a deadly shooting that they say

appears to be a domestic dispute. officers responded to the 300 block of harry s. truman parkway at 1:00 this morning. they found a man and woman with gunshot wound. the man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition. a couple is recovering after their small plane crashed into the hudson river in new york. this is new video from overnight. rescuers pulled a man and a woman from the icy water yesterday afternoon. they were taken to the hospital suffering from hypothermia. they are expected to be okay. the single engine plane left the trenton robinson airport in new jersey on a sightseeing trip. the cause of that crash remains under investigation. new legal problems for music star and virginia native chris brown. we'll tell you what he's accused of doing. ahead, the victims of superb san -- superstorm sandy -- we'll tell you the

that is the sound of cold rain falling in leesburg, virginia right now. it is freezing on some tree limbs and power lines because of the temperature. luckily right now, some of the areas above freezing, but we could see a messy morning commute. >> the black ice will sneak up on you. you never know if there's a spot not so great. take easy. lots of delays today. hopefully that won't be the case for a lot of folks. let's check in with tom kierein. weather and traffic on the 1s. >> it's the elevated surfaces. even though rain is falling, it's freezing up on tree limbs, power lines, the bridges and lamb f ramps, over passes. maybe your sidewalk and front step may be getting icy. in northern montgomery county, panhandle of west virginia.

all the areas in pink getting the rain freezing up on elevated surfaces. where you see the green, it's generally above freezing. that includes the district of columbia and areas in the nearby suburbs. much of northern montgomery county and parts of western howard getting that freeze rain. east of there, though, there's some snow falling and some sleet in prince george's county anne arund arundel, calvert, st. mary's county. west of there it's light rain. temperatures there are only about a degree above freezing. so only needs to drop another degree for the rain to start freezing up on tree limbs and power lines. that will happen hour by hour through 10:00 this morning of the we'll be holding near the freezing mark and above freeze after that. back in ten minute with the forecast and the seven-day outlook as we warm up later had afternoon. i'll be back. danella has traffic. >> still looking at the situation along southbound lehigh way past i-66. as you cross over the train tracks, the railroad crossing

arm is still stuck in the down position. it's blocking one southbound lane. police are on the scene helping you get through the intersection. tom is talking about icicles that are forming on my camera. some of the ramps seeing ice and freezing. use caution, this is a live look at 270. no accidents reported in germantown towards rockville. give yourself extra time. thank you, danella. what hillary clinton is saying about her time as secretary of state as her last day draws closer. also ahead, saved by inches. the accident that put a motorist in harm's way. more legal woes for chris

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licensed phone-ups available 24/7. call 1-800-progressive. welcome back at 6:15. we continue to track winter weather and the problems it's having now. take a look at this live camera on 270 at father hurl i boulevard in montgomery boulevard. you can see the icicles forming on the cameras. crews have been trying to treat the roads ahead of the freezing rain coming down. you want to take it easy. latest road conditions plus updated closures in a few minutes. right now the search is on for a new york city woman who went missing on april trip to turkey. family members are headed to istanbul where the 33-year-old took a trip alone earlier this month. when her husband went to pick her up at the airport last week, he says she wasn't there. police found her passport and medical cards in her room. her family, working with the fbi and the u.s. embassy in turkey

to find her. the state department is calling for the release of an american pastor sentenced to skral time in iran. he was sentenced to eight years behind bars. the idaho native was accused of spreading christianity there, which is considered an attempt to undermine security. a state department spokesperson says the agency considers the sentence a persecution of religious freedom. a new video of worsening violence in egypt. protesters and police continue to clash even after a deadly weekend. more than 50 were killed in protests in cairo. the demonstrations started last week as the country marked the two-year anniversary of the revolution. mohammed morsi will sit down with fellow lawmakers to figure out how to stop the violence. morsi has dee layered a can you are few in three cities. hillary clinton begins her final week as secretary of state. we've learned that friday will be her last day as head of the state department. this week the senate expected to vote on confirming john kerry as

her successor. on cbs' 60 minutes last night, clinton said her battle for the white house with president obama in 2008 made their relationship stronger today. >> i think there's a sense of understanding that sometimes doesn't even take words because we have similar views, we have similar experiences that i think provide a bond that may seem unlikely to some. but it has been really at the core of our relationship. >> secretary clinton still will not discuss rumors that she's thinking of running for president again in 2016. today lawmakers could approve billions of dollars in aid for hurricane sandy victims. the senate votes this afternoon on the package. the house approved the $50 billion package last week. it marks three months since the superstorm slammed into the east coast. the bill is expected to win

approval in the senate. this video will make you cringe. look at this. a motorcyclist in china narrowly escapes being crushed by a semi truck. that motorcyclist was waiting at a light. overturned at the intersection. the rider backs away in the nick of time. everyone, including the truck driver, arrived unharmed. 19 after 6:00. a huge oil spill in the mississippi river. officials say a barge carrying 80 gallons of oil hit a bridge causing thaliek. take a look here. hasn't said how much of that oil spilled into the river. still, there's an oily sheen that can be seen some three miles down river from the accident. crash happened early sunday morning. officials say two barges were damaged but they believe only the one actually hit the bridge causing thaliek. a virginia lawmaker will propose the commonwealth buy the dulles greenway. joe may says if the state controls the toll road that runs

between the airport and leesburg, could improve the experience for drivers. a virginia general assembly subcommittee will take up his bill. the company that now owns that 14-mile stretch of toll road lost $27 million last year. today the ravens will head down to new orleans. the purple and black will receive a hero's departure from the fans before they go. the ravens will host a pep rally before traveling to the big easy. former players from the team's 2000 super bowl victory will be in attendance. the ravens are looking four their second super bowl championship. coming up on 6:21. we go back to our top story. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein has our weather headlines. >> the situation is changing minute by minute. stay tuned to nbc4. we'll keep you fully informed. i'll be here with frequent updates through noontime as we'll get a combination of snow, sleet and freezing rain over the next hour or two. storm team 4 radar, the areas in

pink is where we're getting -- snow changing over to sleet. as we take a close-up look at the radar, in loudoun county, montgomery county, howard county, frederick county in maryland getting some of that rain falling and it's freezing on tree limbs and power lines creating a coating of ice and icicles. here in the district of columbia, some of that freezing rain in northeast washington as well as northwest washington. our eastern suburbs, prince george's county, anne arundel, calvert, charles, st. mary's, getting that light snow the areas in white. west of there, in green, much of this area, temperatures a little above freezing. it's probably just all liquid, not freezing up on elevated surfaces in spotsylvania county. down toward fredericksburg, southern parts of prince william, getting that icing. so is fauquier county and farther west of there it's all icing this morning. there's only going to be a light glaze of icing on tree limbs and power lines. look at all the temperatures

right at the freezing mark. most of the region now. we're going to stay this way for several hours. then warm up this afternoon just light rain. we'll be near 40 this afternoon. stay near 40 overnight tonight and then the mid-50s tuesday afternoon and partly sunny. wednesday, moderate to heavy rains may be moving in. temperatures into the mid 60s. might even get thunder showers on wednesday afternoon into wednesday evening. here's the outlook friday. the weekend always in view as we take a look at it's going to be cold. partly sunny on saturday and sunday after flurries maybe on friday. i'm pack with another update. first 4 traffic is danella. >> tom, still tracking the situation along the brunswick east line on the marc train. a disabled freight train causing delays and slowing you down over an hour. so far train number 870. 74 minutes. over an hour also brunswick train 890. metro is not reporting delays at this time. over to an accident i-95

northbound near the quantico exit. a crash that's off to the left shoulder lane. we'll talk about congestion, slow as you make your way from quantico. not bad from lorton and to the springfield interchange. new developments in the jon benet ramsey case. we'll tell you why prosecutors missed their chance to put the girl's parents on trial. surprise winners at the s.a.g. awards that could add suspense at the

virginia native and singer chris brown in trouble with the law again. apparently he got into a fight with some guy over a parking spot outside a recording studio in west hollywood. los angeles county sheriff's office responded to a report of six men fighting in a parking lot last night. the sheriff's office says brown punched the victim. tmz identifies the man as frank ocean. he tweeted that brown and a couple of guys jumped him. authorities are expected to talk to brown about that incident. hollywood buzzing as ben

affleck's movie argo takes home another top prize at the screen actors guild awards. >> first i want to thank my wife and our kids who i loss love. and warner brothers who i love. not quite as much but i love. argo took home the award for outstanding cast. he starred in the crisis thriller. argo won the top awards at the producers guild awards and at the golden globes. with the latest win, the film goes to the academy awards with a lot of momentum. >> everyone was saying lincoln would be the big winner. argo has taken over. 6:27 is the time. you want to take it easy this morning as you head off to work. we have a look at the trouble spots and the latest closures and delays. the surprise decision that may have kept potential suspects in the murder of

delays and closures pouring in to the newsroom at this hour as rain, sleet and snow continue to fall around the d.c. region. we're watching the roads an the skies and of course, monitoring the school and business closures to keep you informed as you prepare to start this monday. good morning everybody. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. i'm eun yang. depending where you are, you will find everything from wet roads to a steady rain/snow mix. crews in the district, virginia and maryland spent the night treating the roads to prevent slick spots. >> if you have kids, there's a good chance their cool is starting late today if it's not closed altogether. school and government closings continue to pour in. here are some of the more than 250 of them first. in the district, federal offices opening at noon today.

employees have the option for unscheduled leave or telework. d.c. public schools and the d.c. government are delayed two hours today. >> in maryland, prince george's and montgomery county schools are opening two hours late. charles and howard county schools are delayed two hours. so are frederick, st. mary's and calvert county schools. >> in virginia, arlington and loudoun county schools are closed today. stafford county and prince william county schools on a two-hour delay. the same goes for alexandria city public schools. also in virginia. spotsylvania, culpeper, warren and page county schools are on a two-hour delay. fairfax county schools were scheduled to be closed to students. teachers, you have an optional leave until 10:00 this morning. delays in west virginia. berkeley, hampshire, hardy, jefferson, morgan and mineral county schools opening two hours late today. >> let's see the reason why. storm team 4 meteorologist tom

kierein is here. >> it's mostly freezing rain that's falling. it freezes on tree limbs, power lines and shrubbery. i checked our calibrated shrubbery here. we have a few icicles. radar showing a combination of snow, sleet, rain and freezing rain happening simultaneously in the viewing area. the green is rain, the pink is where the rain is freezing on elevated surfaces. that's happening in montgomery county, loudoun county, frederick in maryland. panhandle of west virginia. parts of fairfax county. the areas in green above freezing. the rain not quite freezing in that area as well as along 95 and south. but east we're getting in this white zone. prince jorjts county, anne arundel, parts of charles. switching over to freezing rain there. temperatures above freezing now. it's going to get below freezing. north and west, we're all at or below freezing northern virginia and nearby suburbs in maryland.

we're going to stay this way through about 10:00 at the freezing mark. light icing on tree limbs and power lines and shrubbery. a look at the afternoon and we'll take a look at that in ten minutes. i'm here with frequent updates throughout the morning. eun? thanks, tom. the freezing rain could not come at a worse time, as the monday morning rush gets under way. in some places, things are starting to become slippery. melissa mollet is live in germantown with a check of how things look there. melissa, what's going on? >> good morning, eun. you can probably see this slow, steady freezing rain we've been getting for the past 2 1/2 hours or so. you can see behind me, some puddles accumulating now. this area has been treated. if our on a road that's not been treated. you'll have an issue. let's look where i'm standing. you can see a bit of ice here. it is slippery. this is what you're going to deal with when you head out this morning. untreated roads, perhaps on your sidewalk.

s take a walk over here. not a big deal at all on the grass. just kind of wet. some little icy spots here and there. especially on the snow that we had from the last week at the end of last week. again, you can see the roads here in germantown at 118 and crystal rock. not bad. we're really talking at this moment at 6:30 this morning about wet roads. we did talk with people coming to the gas station about the roads as they've been driving around town. take a listen. >> you got a nice icy coating on your car here, huh? >> yes, i do. >> how are the roads? >> slippery. you have to be careful. >> you just got on the road a few minutes ago. it's not bad. >> what are you expecting this morning? >> i don't know. i got -- i'm on a two-hour delay at montgomery county schools. i'm going in early before the traffic because i get hung up and then it's bad. >> something to think about of course. ice that could be accumulating on power lines. isiah cumulating entree tree

branches. toss it inside to danella. i know the roads are nerve racking for some folks this morning, huh in. >> you're in germantown where i'm seeing a report of a new accident. but this time wearing station road at middle brook road. be careful, especially on the local roads. highways look good. local roads, you are seeing an icy path here. you can see icicles on my camera at i-270 at father hurley. it's running without accidents now. 6:36 now. the owners of a nightclub in bra jill where a fire killed more than 230 people could face manslaughter charges. a band's pyrotechnics started the fire they think early sunday morning in santa maria. survivors say security guards tried to block the exits. many of the victims were under 20 years old and trampled to death. there is a three-day mourning period.

a grand jury voted to indict the parents of jon benet ramsey in 1999. the 6-year-old was murdered in 1996. after a three-year investigation district attorney announced there wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone with her murder. sources say a grand jury voted to indict john and patsy ramsey for child abuse. hunter didn't prosecute because he wasn't sure he could get a conviction. the parents were exonerated of wrongdoing in 2008. three men are in prison and another on the loose this morning after allegedly robbing students near the university of maryland college park. the three along with a fourth accomplice robbed a student using brass knuckles outside the shanghai cafe around 3:00 sunday morning. they got away with a victim's wallet and iphone. police are still looking for another suspect who robbed a student. many students are on edge. >> it's unsettling because today we were looking at apartments and looking to live here. we got a text message saying

there was an armed robbery here. >> police are still looking for the fourth robber who they say tried to take a student's laptop at gunpoint. the student fought back and the suspect ran away empty handed. today a rally in support of repealing the death penalty in maryland. had afternoon, the relatives of five murder victims will join that rally in annapolis. they're supporting the push to repeal the state's death penalty. it's organized by the hd md citizens against state executions. it is now 6:38. members of congress ready to make sweeping changes to america's immigration laws. also ahead, the people getting a chance to weigh in on the gun control debate today at the white house. another amazing story of survival on the hudson river. another live look outside as the sleet continues to fall across parts of d.c. area. icy problems for you this morning. the latest impact this storm is having on schools, businesses, all that, when "news4 today"

weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning, it's 6:41. right now we're getting a combination of snow and sleet in these areas on storm team 4 radar. south in the green, it's rain. north and west of washington, montgomery county, parts of favor fairfax, loudoun, the areas in pink. that's liquid rain that's falling and freezing on untreated surfaces. elevated surfaces like tree limbs and power lines and shrubbery and much of southern maryland, it's a little above freezing. it's just rain falling there. right around the beltway, north and west of washington, it's at or below freezing. there's going to be icing on the elevated surfaces through 10:00 this morning. then after that, we'll be warming up as we get into the afternoon with temperatures climbing to around 40 degrees by late afternoon. warmup on the way after that. your seven-day outlook in ten minutes. knell mdanella with a look at t >> we have an update on the marc delays along the brunswick east

line because of an earlier disabled freight train. train number 870 is on the move operating at 1 1/2 hour delay. train number 890, just over an hour delay here. metro is honoring the marc tickets. metro, no delays reported. over to the roetd ways. the inner loop of the beltway, exit for georgia avenue, your right exit lane is blocked there by a crash. 6:43. the midwest is digging out from the winter weather we're getting right now. take a look at this. the winter storm dumped this on the midwest. chicago and minneapolis buried beneath a quarter inch of ice. that caused a lot of traffic accidents. we're hearing of more than 200 crashes in minnesota alone. right now, people in loudoun county are only dealing with rain, but that doesn't mean they're out of the woods just yet. temperatures are hovering around freezing and the roads and sidewalks are still very slick.

news 4's tony tull is live with an update. tony, good morning. >> reporter: eun, good morning. within the last couple of minutes, we've noticed a little bit of a change in temperature. the temperatures dropping below freezing. i just a conversation with tom kierein a couple minutes ago. he said be careful if you're heading out in loudoun county. route 7 in leesburg is where we are. you can see traffic moving not too bad. there were a lot of salt trucks and plows out this morning. over 650 deployed by vdot earlier. there's one thing i've been talking about and that is the accumulation of ice on the sidewalks. it's hard o see with the regular cameras. this is a second camera view. i put my iphone on the ground. you can see the ice accumulating on the ground. you can see the ice pellets and it's glassed over. that's what's on untreated surfaces. if you're headed out and walk on your sidewalk or possibly walking on untreated surfaces, be very careful. we're dealing with a lot of ice. that's the latest from here.

i'm tony tull, back to you. >> thank you, you can get the forecast even when you can't watch news 4 by going to nbcwashington.com. we have a list of school closings as well as an interactive radar to help you see the conditions where you are. you can send us your pictures of snow and ice at i see@nbcwashington.com. major changes in the immigration laws. the senate announced it will agree to sweeping -- the deal would create a so-called path to citizenship for n documented immigrants in the country. to make sure companies don't hire undocumented workers. this deal was a bipartisan effort with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle saying things simply have to change. >> americans support it in poll after poll. secondly, latino voters expect. third the democrats want it and fourth, republicans immediate.

>> we can't go on forever with 11 million people living in the shadows had an illegal status. >> republicans say this past election showed them just how important the latino vote has become. president obama got 70% of the latino vote on the path to reelection. in the day ahead, cops converge on the white house to talk gun control with president obama. police chiefs from aurora, colorado, oak creek, wisconsin and newtown, connecticut will head to the white house today. they'll talk about the president's suggestions on the gun control policies he put forth last month after the sandy hook school massacre. attorney general eric holder, janet napolitano and vice president joe biden will all be in that meeting. new had morning, police in annapolis are investigating a shooting that. officers responded to the harry s. truman parkway around 1:00 this morning. they found a man and woman both with gunshot wounds. the man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman taken to the hospital.

they believe it started as a domestic argument. police are vegtding three people in connection to a murder in anne arundel county. police found a body had a wooded area in glenburnie. officers arrested eric banks and charged him with first-degree murder. they also arrested his daughter, 27-year-old erica banks, as well as 24-year-old tremendous mine calhoun on illegal possession of a handgun. they say they were acquaintances and are still trying to figure out what happened. a former lawmaker -- 83-year-old christina jones was a former state delegate from prince george's county. she was rushed to a baltimore hospital after her home in temple hills caught fire. she was the first african-american to represent the county in the general assembly. the cause of that fire is still under investigation. this morning, investigators are trying to figure out what caused a small plane to crash into the hudson river in new york. this is new video in from over might. a man and a woman were rescued

from the icy water yesterday afternoon. the plane left the trenton robinsonville airport in new jersey on a sightseeing trip. a father and son helped to rescue the couple. >> i got to the crew aboard. able to bring them aboard and provide them medical attention as quick as possible. you know, my son did a great job. and thank god hopefully they'll be safe. >> the victims are expected to be okay. new this morning, investigators are now hoping the manufacturer of a battery upon tore offers some answers about the problems plaguing boeing's new state-of-the-art plane. they're turning their a engs to the company which makes a system that tracks voltage charging and the temperature of the boeing 787's lithium-ion battery. all of those dreamliner planes remained grounded after one of the batteries overheated forcing it to make an emergency landing in japan. another 787 caught fire while parked in boston. 6:48 right nowment american

airlines and u.s. airways appear to be moving closer to joining forces. cnbc's jackie deangelis live with that story and more. jackie, good morning. >> aaron, good morning. u.s. airways and american airlines are in the final stages of the merger talks. a deal could reportedly be coming soon. we're looking for that in the next two weeks as a matter of fact. report are saying that the merger price and management structure are the major sticking points left to resolve at this point. the board of american's parent company planning to meet today and tomorrow. amr hasn't made a final decision on the merger and reports say that the company is still considering its own restructuring plan, a viable option to reviving the airline. american, of course, filed for bankruptcy in november 2011. also barnes and noble planning to close about a third of its retail stores over the next decade. the company's ceo telling the wall street journal that he sees the chain having about 450 to 500 stores which would mean shutting about 20 locations a year.

barnes and noble, they've been closing about 15 stores a year over the past decade. but remember, they were also opening about 30 or more at the same time. but store openings, of course, have slowed as consumers are shifting from physical to digital books and also developers, they've stopped opening new malls and that's where we see most of the barnes and noble stores. back to you. jackie x thank you. if you filled your gas tank, you've noticed gas is going up. the national average for regular gas rose four cents over a week. aaa report thes the national average is $3.34 a gallon. in d.c., $3.57. in maryland, $3.39 a gallon. in virginia, $3.26. in west virginia, it's $3.49. it had soon be easier for community college nursing students to earn their bachelors degrees. they will sign a deal today with george washington university. it will let community college students in virginia transfer their associate degree credits to the school of nursing. they will be guaranteed

admission if they meet established academic requirements. today, thousands of prince george's county residents will get a new voice in annapolis. darren swain will be sborn in as a new member of the house of delegate. he will fit fill the seat that tiffany alston once held. she was o removed from office after entering a plea deal to settle two cases against her last year. he served in the house in -- he's an assistant vice president for alumni relations at bowie state university. still a little bit away from a sunrise had morning. we're dealing with some nasty precipitation. >> that's right. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein now here. tom? >> it's mostly icing now. my twitter followers and facebook friends are posting reports of patio furniture coated with ice, decks getting coated, tree limbs, shrubbery, power lines and icicles. those areas in pink is where we're getting the freezing rain. it's liquid rain that falls and then freezes on elevated

surfaces. and it will continue for several hours. the areas in white, that's where there's a little bit of snow and sleet in eastern prince george's county and anne arundel. the rest of western howard, frederick county in maryland, much of loudoun county, most of those regions, we have temperatures at the freezing mark or below depending on the elevation where you live. that's where the rain is icing up on elevated surfaces on tree limbs and power lines and schaubry. farther south, it's in the form of rain. generally in the district, the areas in green, the rain is not sticking to anything. it's continuing to fall. southern maryland, northern neck, down 95. toward fredericksburg. but west of 95 there are a few pockets where it's cold enough for the rain to ice up on elevated surfaces where the temperatures are just a little bit below freezing as well as montgomery county. farther east, most of the locations are above freezing, as well as the rest of southern maryland. all the counties in the purple,

all of northern virginia, the district, much of maryland under this winter weather advisory until noontime. by then, above freezing. between now through 10:00 a.m., we should be near the freezing mark and light icing occurring on the tree limbs and power lines, elevated surfaces. by 11:00 ought to get above freezing. the rest of the afternoon hovering near 40 degrees. the rain will end by sunset. mid-50s tomorrow afternoon with sun coming up. then on wednesday, we ought to get rain coming in. balmy in the 60s briefly. some rain could be heavy at times with thunder and lightning late in the day. ending wednesday night. colder weather moving in, maybe flurries and snow showers on friday. i'm back with frequent updates throughout the morning. danella with a look at traffic. good morning. >> good morning. an update on the earlier accident in germantown. this is waring station road and middlebrook road. it's off to the shoulder lane. please use caution. local roads can be pretty slick

this morning. let's head over to the beltway. the inner loop, taking the exit towards georgia avenue, a disabled vehicle blocking your right lane. traveling along i-95 in virginia, check out the travel speeds right now. just underspeed but you should be. take your time in case you come along icy patches. approximate 20 minutes to get from prince william to the capitol beltway. eun? danella, thanks so much. let's check in with angie goff at the live desk. >> it's reported that iran has successfully sent a monkey into space. this coming from the defense ministry's aerospace department. he said they successfully launched a capsule with a monkey in had it and were able to recover a shipment on the ground intact. officials said the project is going to help iran eventually send a man into space. he want to do that by the year 2020. this is not the first time the country has sent an animal into outer space. they've sent rats before,

turtles and worms. but a previous monkey launch last year failed. as for this monkey, still no word on his condition. at the live desk, angie goff, news 4. thank you, angie. as you -- as you head out the door morning, you want to be aware of slippery conditions. freezing rain has moved into parts of the area making for a tough commute. melissa mollet live in germantown with a look at the roads there. melissa? >> reporter: good morning. you can probably still see that it's coming down a bit. it's been doing this for the past couple of hours. you can look at that light there. look at the branches. this is what tom has been talking about. nice icy layer on branches which can make them heavy. be aware of that. when you're out and about today. in the distance, you can see the road at crystal rock drive. not bad at all. we have seen a couple plows but no salt trucks. they were probably treated with the last storm. mo major issues here.

untreated areas like the sidewalk, very, very slippery. please be warned. live in germantown, melissa mollet, news 4. melissa, thanks. this weather does not appear to be impacting our local airports just yet. here's a live look at reagan national. we've just checked and found that most flights are taking off and landing on time. there are a dozen cancellations but nothing maj jar to report. the same for dulles and bw marshall. good idea to check your flight before you leave. you can check the weather at any time. you can download the app and take and upload photos so other viewers can see what conditions are like in your neighborhood. please send your photos. >> you can get the forecast right now. storm team meteorologist tom kierein. post your photos to nbc washington icy.com. we'll appreciate that. later today, all the icing ending by moon time and just light light rain ending tonight. we'll be near 40 late this afternoon. staying near 40 overnight. warmer weather for tuesday into wednesday. could get heavy rain on wednesday.

colder after that. how is traffic now, danella? >> we had a situation at randolph at neb he will street. the crossing arms were stuck in the down position but just cleared just now. if you're at randolph at nebel, nice and clear. thank you, danella. it's been a busy morning. going to stay that way a bit longer. we appreciate you starting your day with us. the "today" show is next. we'll be right back for breaking news, weather and traffic. we'll see you tomorrow. stay safe everybody.